mm 


^a^ 


iTk 


a. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


m 


<.  •«? 


A 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


■^  l£    112.2 
SB4    in— 

I '-  m 

11.4    IIIIII.6 


Phntooranhic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


2i  WEST  .MAIN  STKcET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


^ 


L<P 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductlons  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


n 
□ 

D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagde 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pelliculde 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

Lareliure  si  rree  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout6es 
lors  dune  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  cos  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 

Additional  comments;/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  et6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-§tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  una 
modification  dans  la  m^thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 


V  Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 


Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaur^e?  et/ou  pelliculdes 


D 


ip"?!  'Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
V 1    Pages  decolor6es,  tachet^es  ou  piquees 


D 


Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachees 


I      I    Showthrough/ 


D 


Transparence 

3f  prir 

ndgale  de  I'impression 

supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


□    Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  indga 

I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 
I — I    Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  film6es  d  nouveau  de  facon  h 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

1CX  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


SOX 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


2SX 


32X 


tails 

du 
odifier 

une 
mage 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  gr§ce  d  la 
gdn^rositd  de: 

Library  of  Congress 
Photoduplication  Service 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet6  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformit6  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ►  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim6e  sont  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filin6s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derni^re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ♦-  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  etre 
filmds  a  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Stre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


srrata 
to 


pelure, 
>n  d 


D 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

"'v^'       '■i^'r 

I* 


SOLEMN  PROTEST 


AGAINST  THE  LATE  DECLARATION  OF  WAR, 


IH  A 


DISCOURSE, 


oelivereH 


>, 


'      ,  -    ^Oi/V  rZffi  JV^Zr  LORD'S  DAY 


i 


AFTER  THE  TIDINGS  OP  IT  WERE  RECEIVED. 


X 


BY  DAVID  OSGOOD,  ».  o. 

PASTOa   or  THE   CHURCH    II«   MEDFORD. 


^ 


SECX)ND  EDITION. 


tv^^Mn 


n 


EXETEiR : 
PRINTED  BY  C.  XOBBIS  8c  CO. 


1812. 


■f< 


./: 


/ 


\ 


i 


II 


SOLEMN  PROTEST. 


II  CHRON.  xili.  12.  ' 

O  chlUren  qf  I$rael,  fight  ye  not  against  the  Lord  God  ofyourfathtrs  ; 
for  ye  shall  not  prosper. 

As  the  dreadful  calamity  of  war  has  just  befallen  our 
country  and  oppresses  all  our  minds  with  grief  and 
concern,  a  discourse  upon  this  subject  is,  of  all  others 
the  most  seasonable,  as  meeting  your  most  anxious 
thoughts  and  sure  to  engage  your  most  earnest  atten- 
tion.    The  feelings  of  every  man,  capable  of  the  least 
reflection,  must  be  shocked  beyond  measure  by  so 
sudden  and  unexpected  a  fall  from  peace  and  plenty, 
case  and  comfort,  security  and  enjoyment,  into  all  the 
priviUions,  the  hardships,  the  burdens,  the  perils,  the 
distresses,  the  complicated  horrors  of  war.     At  this 
moment,  your  minds  are  harassed  and  your  bosoms 
tortured  with  the  idea  of  your  sons,  your  husbands, 
your  brothers  reluctantly  torn  from  all  the  scenes  and 
occupations  of  peace,  from  all  their  domestic  connex- 
ions, enjoyments  and  pursuits,  to' be  exposed  in  the 
tented  field,  subjected  to  the  rigors  of  a  military  life, 
liable  to  the  numerous  and  fatal  diseases  of  a  camp, 
and  occasionally,  to  stand  as  so  many  marks  for  the 
sharp  shooters  in  the  hostile  army.     You  anticipate 
the  tingling  of  your  ears  at  the  tidings  of  one,  and  an- 
other, and  another  of  these  your  beloved  friends  and 
relatives  fallen  in  battle,  mangled  with  wounds,  groan- 
ing and  expiring  on  the  crimsoned  field,  or  lodged  ii^ 
military  hospitals,  there  to  linger  in  torment  for  a  little 
space,  till  nature  be  exhausted,  and  they  give  up  the 
ghost.     Your  bowels  sound  with  pain  and  yearning 
at  the  expected  accounts  of  garments  rolled  in  blood, 
and  the  extensive  carnage  spread  by  contending  ar- 


mies.    Nor  can  you  forbear  thinking  of  what  must 
immediately  take  place,  the  incalculable  loss  of  men 
and  of  treasure  upon  the  mighty  waters.     The  im- 
mense  property  of  our  merchants  at  thi<^  moment  float- 
ing from  all  (juarters  of  the  globe  is,  by  this  one  word, 
war,  piven  up  an  unprotected  and  almost  certain  prey, 
together  with  the  thousands  and  thousands  of  our  sea- 
faring brethren,  having  this  property  in  charge,  to  be 
all  made  captives,  crowded  into  jails  and  on  board 
prison-ships,  or  constrained  to  man  the  fleets  of  the 
enemy  and  replenish  with  hands  his  thousand  cruisers. 
You  are  in  daily  expectation  of  the  ravages  whrch 
these  cruisers  may  make,  their  plunderings  and  burn- 
ings  in  the  ports  and  1  ^bours  of  our  coast  from  one 
extremity  to  the  other ;  while  on  our  western  frontier 
through  its  whole  extent,  the  forces  of  the  two  Cana- 
das,  in  junction  with  the  numerous  tribes  of  hostiie 
savages,  are  laying  waste  our  new  settlements,  bring- 
ing pillage  and  death  on  the  defenceless  inhabitants. 
You  cannot  suppress  your  sympathy  in  the  perils  to 
which  this  portion  of  our  population  is,  even  now 
while  I  am  speaking,  exposed. .  Some  of  you,  my 
brethren,  still  remember  what  your  own  feelings  were 
on  that  day  when  almost  every  breeze  of  air  brought 
to  your  ears  the  alarming  report,  "that  the  enemy  was 
at  hand,  that'you  must  instantly  leave  your  habitations 
and  fly  for  your  lives."     My  eyes  have  witnessed  and 
by  personal  exl^erience  I  know,  and  those  of  you  who 
arc  my  coevals,  by  the  same  experience  also  know, 
that  the  particulars  in  the  description  now  given  are 
the  fruits  and  effects  of  war— were  fully  realized,  most 
dreadfully  exemplified  in  that  war  in  which  we  our- 
selves were  formerly  involved. 

Look  at  this  picture,  ye  self-called  true  republicans, 
contemplate  its  variegated  features ;  then  go  and  advo- 
cate the  war  now  proclaimed ;  extol  to  the  skies,  the 
wisdom  and  patriotism  of  its  authors ;  with  your  ac- 
customed zeal  and  vehemence  electioneer  afresh  in 
their  favour ;  and  agmn  fill  your  gazettes  with  increas- 
ed floods  of  abuse  and  slander  on  the  few  surviving 
friends  of  the  Godlike  Washington,  qn  Strong,  Pick- 


I  f 


#•«••••••••* 


erinK,  and  Jay  :  in  short,  on  all  the  enhghtcncd  lovers 
of  nZace  and  of  ihtir  country  :  hasten  a  new  edition  of 
those  liirragoes  of  excitements  to  war,  and  ot  mahg- 
nant  calumnies  against  its  opposers,  contained  in  the 
speeches  and  proclamations  of  your  admired  Uerr>-. 

But  the  subject  is  too  serious  and  awful  for  irony. 
I  have  not  forgotten,  nor  can  I  ever  forget,  while  con- 
sciousness abides  with  me,  my  own  mental  sufferings 
during  the  period  of  our  former  war.      Through  those 
eight  long  years  whose  slow  lingering  pace,  vyhile  hoiK- 
was  defen-ed  and  the  heart  sickened  with  pam  and  an- 
guish, seemed  without  end— a  burden  lay  upon  my 
spirits  by  day  and  by  night  almost  too  heavy  for  frail 
moruUity  to  sustain.     During  the  hours  of  repose,  vi- 
sions of  horror  rose  in  my  imagination  and  disturbed 
my  rest:  through  the  long  lived  day,  the  distresses  ot 
my  country  and  the  dangers  and  disasters  of  my  friends 
hiassed  my  thoughts.     In  the  mean  while,  the  course 
of  nature  moved  on  tranquil  and  serene,  without  sus- 
pension or  interruption.     '»ie  delightful  vicissitudes 
of  day  and  night,  and  the  cheering  rotation  of  the  sea- 
sons, were  what  they  had  been  before,  and  what  they 
have  continued  to  be  since ;  but  to  mv  feelings  they 
were  not  the  same  and  brought  not  the  accustomed 
pleasure.     If  in  an  early  morning  walk  at  the  rise  of 
the  orb  of  day,  in  the  splendour  of  his  beams  1  beheld 
the  vast  creation  around  me  and  exclaimed  with  the 
poet, 

«« These  arc  thy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  good  ! 
Almighty !  thine  this  universal  frame. 
Thus  wondrous  fair  j" 

Instantly  my  wounded  spirit  urged  the  remonstnmce, 
«  yet  why,  thou  great  source  of  beneficence,  is  thy 
chosen  creature  man,  for  whose  sake  this  ample  provi- 
sion has  been  made,  why  is  he  given  up  to  those  pas- 
sions and  lusts,  those  strifes  and  contentions  \yhich  fill 
the  moral  system  with  disorder,  with  confusion,  and 
every  evil  work  !  Why  do  I  hear  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet  and  the  alarm  of  war,  the  proud  and  clamo- 
rous  shouts  of  discord  and  battle  ?"— If  again  at  even- 
tide   on  the  adjacent  hills  I  meditated  on  the  starry 


firmament,  on  the  planetary  systems  there  hung  forth 
to  our  admiring  view,  the  unnumbered  worlds  roUing 
over  our  heads,  and  reflected  on  the  perfect  order  ana 
harmony  with  which  they  continue  their  unceasing 
movements,  their  respective  revohitions,  each  in  his 
own  destined  orbit,  without  any  perceptible  deviation, 
and  regularly,  from  age  to  age,  shed  their  benign  in- 
fluences  on  this  abode  of  mortals — prostrathig  my  soul 
before  their  great  author  and  regulator,  my  heart 
prompted  mc  to  praj%  '*  O  thou  God  of  order  and  of 
peace,  send  down,  I  beseech  thee,  from  thy  eternal 
throne,  a  portion  of  the  celestial  harmony  to  guide  the 
counsels  and  pursuits  of  thy  rational  offspring  here  on 
earth.  In  giving  them  existence,  thou  hast  deigned 
from  thine  infinite  understanding  to  impart  to  them 
some  rays  of  intelligence.  Cro\vn,  O  crown  thy  gift 
of  reason  to  them  oy  penetrating  their  hearts  with  a 

{)ortion  of  thy  love.  Give  them  to  know  and  to  feel 
low  good  and  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  to- 
gether in  unity."  Thus  daily  lamenting,  and  praying 
against,  the  miseries  of  war,  I  passed  through  that 
most  gloomy  portion  of  my  past  life  from  1775  till  the 
transporting  sound  of  peace  in  1783. 

Abhorrent  as  my  nature  and  all  my  feelings  then 
were  from  war,  I  entertained  the  sentiment  in  Mjhich 
my  fellow-citizens  universally,  almost  to  a  man,  were 
agreed,  that,  on  our  part,  it  was  necessaiy,  and  from 
this  conviction  I  composed  and  preached  frequent  dis- 
courses to  animate  and  encourage   its  prosecution. 
Our  oppressors  had  explicitly  avowed  their  purpose  to 
wrest  from  us  our  dearest  privileges,  to  bind  us  in  all 
cases  whatever,  subjecting  us  to  their  will  and  to  what- 
ever burdens  they  might  see  fit  to  impose.     They  va- 
cated our  charters,  changed  the  forms  of  our  govern- 
ments, and  answered  our  humble  petitions  and  re- 
monstrances at  the  mouths  of  their  cannon.     Theilr 
fleets  and  armies  invaded  our  country,  seized  our  prop- 
erty, wantonly  shed  the  blood  of  our  people,  and  die'm- 
selves  commenced  the  war  witli  every  mark  of  ferocity 
and  outrage.     Thus  circumstanced  like  the  children 
of  Judah  in  the  context,  we  cried  unto  the  Lord,  to 


r* 


I- 


2" 


iiarftnifinwiliiiii 


I 


f 


ii 


r 


-^ 


him  committed  our  cause,  and  in  a  humble  rcHance 
upon  him  girded  on  the  harness  in  our  own  defence. 

In  the  motives  for  the  present  war,  who  can  discern 
the  least  shidc  of  resemblance  to  those  for  the  former  ? 
And  what  christian,   under  the  influence  of  christian 

1)rinciples,  can  dare  pray  for  success  ?     In  order  to  the 
east  hope  from  God,  we  must  have  a  clear  and  perfect 
conviction  tliat  the  war  is  just  and  necessary  ;  I  say, 
necessary^  for  if  it  be  not  such  as  is  forced  upon  us  by 
absolute  and  dire  necessity  it  cannot  be  just.     Its  very 
nature  is  violence  against  the  lives  and  properties  of  our 
fellow-beings,  our  brcthien,  the  children  of  our  com- 
mon progenitor  on  earth  and  common  Father  in  heaven. 
On  this  account  it  is  denounced,  even  when  most  just 
and  necessary,  by  M.  de  Vattel  in  his  law  of  nations^ 
as,  "  but  a  wretched  expedient  against  those  who  spurn 
at  justice  and  refuse  the  remonstrances  of  reason.     It 
is  (he  goes  on)  in  extremities  only  that  a  just  and  wise 
nation  or  a  good  prince  has  recourse  to  it. — Those 
who  run  to  arms  without  necessity  are  the  scourges  of 
the  human  race,  barbarians,  enemies  to  society,  and 
rebels  to  the  law  of  nature,  or  rather  to  the  common 
Father  of  mankind. — Humanity  is  shocked  at  a  sover- 
eign who  lavishes  the  lives  of  his  subjects,  who  ex- 
poses his  people  to  the  havoc  and  miseries  of  war, 
when  they  might  enjoy  an  honorable  and  salutary  jjeace. 
Besides  the  misfortunes  drawn  on  his  subjects,  for 
which  he  is  accountable,  he  is  guilty  also  of  those  he  car- 
ries Eimidst  an  innocent  people.     The  slaughter  of  men, 
the  pillage  of  cities,  the  devastation  of  provinces,  are 
his  crimes.    He  is  responsible  to  God,  and  accounta- 
ble to  man,  for  every  pft-son  that  is  killed.     The  vio- 
lences, the  crimes,  tne  various  disorders  attendant  on 
the  licendous  tumult  of  arms,  pollute  his  conscience 
and  blacken  his  account,  as  he  is  the  original  author  of 
them  all." 

Such  being,  in  the  judgment  of  ihis  wise  and  good 
Frenchman,  the  honible  guilt  of  those  who  engage  in 
an  unnecessary  war,  is  it  not  the  incumbent,  the  indis- 
pensable duty  of  every  subject  of  these  States,  capable 
of  the  exercise  of  reason,  in  the  fear  of  God,  solemnly 


-  -1 


/ 


%iMt<liin«^mwi 


'■"^■i 


'^mftx'* 


8 


to  enquire,    wlictlur   the    present   war  he  neee.ss;ir}', 
whether   tlie    preteiiees  for  it  be  fountlcd,  and  in  tliat 
case,  whether  they  l)e  ot"  siTth  majjpiitude,  so  innnedi- 
atcly  urfjent  and   iniporUmt,  as  to  justify  the  adoption 
of  so  awful  an  exjudient  ?     This   (juestion  is  forecd 
uj)on  our  immediate  consideration.     Our  consciences, 
if  we  hive  any,  comjx^l  us  to  the  discussion.     Its  late 
decision  by  our  rulers  docs  not  exempt  us  from  the 
obligation  of  giving  it  our  most   serious  and  impartiid  g 
examination.     Our  rulers  are  men,  and  as  such,  are  lia-  ^ 
ble  to  err  through  misconception.    To  them  applies  the 
mterrogatory,  ivho  can  understand  his  errors  ?    They 
partake  of  uie   common   depravity  of  our  apostate  na- 
ture,    and,  of  course,  arc    liable  to  corrupt   prejudices 
and  passions,  and  from  such   depraved  principles  may 
form  wicked   decrees   and  establish   inicjuity  by  lawr 
It  is  the  glory  of  a  free  government,  its  chief  and  main 
excellence  for  which  it  ought  to  be  desired  and  sought, 
comprising  all  that  is  meant  or  that  is  valuable  in  lib- 
erty itself,  that  it  constitutes  the  people  a  check  upon 
their  public  servants,  and,  in  the  last  resort,  gives  them 
the  power  of  correcting  the  mistakes   smd  of  remedy- 
ing the  evil  and  mischief,    which  the  weakness  or  the 
wickedness  of  their  rulers  may  have  pnxluced.     They 
may  displace  such  rulers  and  commit  the  management 
of  their  affairs  to  better   characters.     If  through   their 
own  weakness  and  wickedness  they  fail  of  domg  this, 
they  forfeit  all  their  privileges,  offend  against  God,  the 
giver  of  them,  and  expose   themselves  to  his  heaviest 
judgments,  not  only  to  the  calamities  of  the  present  life 
as  a  community,  but  individually,  to  the  danger  of  ev- 
erlasting punishment  hereafter.     If  at  the  command  of 
weak  or  wicked  rulers,  they  undertake  an  unjust  war, 
'  each  man  who  volunteers  his  services  in  such  a  cause, 
or  loans  his  money  for  its  support,  or  by  his  conversa- 
tion, his  writings,  or  any  other  mode  of  influence,  en- 
courages its  prosecution,  that  man  is  an  accomplice  in 
tlie  wickedness,  loads  his  conscience  with  the  blackest 
crimes,  brings  the  guilt  of  bl©od  upon  his  soul,  and,  in 
the  sight  of  God  and  his  law,  is  a  murderer.     War  is 
hatred  in  its  fullest  and  highest  expression,  and  St. 


,p|^^g||^|g(HH|MIM«il*M>lliM*li*'<iMiMiM 


■«lt 


-% 


\ 

e 

y 

It 

ir 

t 
It 
fe 

r. 
Jf 


l- 

in 

St 

in 
is 
»t. 


:tt 


John  explicitly  affirms,  that  whosoever  hateth  his  hroth- 
tr  is  a  murderer,  and  thatwo  murderer  hath  eternal  life. 
At  the  last  cUty  ut  shiill  be  juclRtd,  not  by  the  luu  s  of 
Congress,  but  by  the  law  of  G<k1  now  mentioned,  and 
Him  we  must  olK-y,  to  the  nejrlect  of  all  opposing  hu- 
man  laws,  and  even  at  the  risk  ol"  our  lives.     Whether 
to  obey  God  or  man,  is  tiie  question   upon  which  we 
are  to  make  up  our   minds.     In  this  aw  ful   dilemma, 
my  brethren,  you  and  I,  all  the  n>en  and  all  the  women 
bi  these  United   States,  are  now  placed.     Each  indi- 
vidual, after  consulting  his   conscience  aivd   availing 
himself  of  all  the  information  within  his  reach,  must 
determine  for  himself,  m^d  according  to  hi)*own  ideas 
of  responsibility  to  God,  at  whose  tribunal   he  must 
give  an  account.     Nor  has  he  much  time  for  delibe- 
ration.    In  obeditnce  to  the  law  olGod,  that  law,  the 
fulfilment  of  which  consists  in  love,  benevolence,  and 
universal  goodness — we  are  now  immediately  to  act 
and  to  suffer  either  in  supporting,  or,  by  all  constitu- 
tional means,  resisting  that  law  of  our  ruleia,  which 
proclaims  liberty  to  the  sw ord,  which  calls  us  to  rob 
and  slaughter  our  fellow-men,  our  brethren,  with  whom 
we  have  ties  of  blood,  ol  interest,  of  manners,  of  speech, 
of  opinion,  and  of  religion,   incomparably  more  near 
than  with  the  men  of  any  other  nation  on  earth  :  A- 
gainst  this  nation  we  are  command .d  to  wa^  war,  do- 
ing them  all  possible  harm  and  mischief,  while  they  do 
alt  possible  harm  and  mischief  to  us.     Into  this  most 
horriWe  state  of  things  our  rulers  have  brought  us  :  In 
these  dreadful  circumstances  they  have  jjlaccd  us  by 
thek  declaration  of  war. 

Theii-  pretences  for  this,  as  stated  in  their  manifesto, 
after  being  stript  of  much  false  colouring,  many  un- 
proved assertions,  and  an  abundance  of  verbal  exagger- 
ataon,  may  chit  fly  tie  comprised  under  three  heads. 
They  pretend  that,  in  a  war  of  -almost  twenty  years' 
duration,  and  of  a  nature  and  character  diffeient  from 
any  other  iJiat  has  ever  happened  in  modem  times, 
some  of  our  seamen  have  been  pressed  on  board  Brit- 
ish ^ips — that  British  cruisers  have  sometimes  insulted 
our  «)a8t ;  but  that  the  main  provocation  is,  that  the 


4 

/ 


r 


10 

British  Orders  in  Council  were  not  repealed,  after  oiff 
President  had  proclaimed  the  repeal  of  the  Berlin  and 
Milan  Decrees  of  France.— With  respect  to  the  two 
fir-'t  of  these  provocations— the  impressment  occasion- 
ally  of  some  of  our  sailors,  and  an  instance  or  two  of  out- 
raieinour  harbours— it  has  never  been  pretended  that 
either  of  these  was  authorised  bv  the  British  government. 
In  every  instance,  they  were  the  irregular  unwarranted 
acts  of  individuals,  subordinate  officers,  whose  rashness 
and  folly  no  government  can  at  all  times  and  every 
where  restrain.     The  redress  of  these  grievances  how; 
ever    and  compensation  for  such  injiu-ies,  alter  prooi 
of  them  has  been  fairly  and  fully  exhibited,  have  never 
been  refused      Our  great  and  almost  only  controversy 
vdth  England,  respects  her  Orders  in  Council  restrict- 
ino-  our  trade  with  France,  because  France  had  firat  pro. 
hibited  our  trade  with  England  by  her  Berlin  and  Milan 
Decree3.     As  the  British  Orders  were  professedly  oc 
casioned  by  the  French  Decrees,  it  was  expected  that 
they  would  be  revoked  on  the  repeal  o*"  thos  3  Decrees. 
Our  government,  having  proclaimed  tha.t  remuii  de- 
manded the  revocation  of  the  British  Orders.     England 
replied  that  we  were  mistaken  in  our  assertion  of  the 
repeal  of  the  French  Decrees,  and,  in  proof  of  wur  mis- 
take produced  official  documents  of  the  French  govern- 
meat  explicitly  contradicting  our  proclamation,  and  af- 
firming thattliose  decrees,  so  far  from  being  repealed, 
were  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  French  empire,  aid 
therefore  were  not  and  never  could  be  repealed.     She 
urged  further,  that  ourselves  knew  that  they  were  not  re- 
pealed, by  the  almost  daily  loss  of  our  ships  and  cargoes 
in  ronsequence  of  their  continued  execution ;  assmce 
the  period  of  tht  ir  pretended  repeal,  scores,  if  not  hun- 
dieds  of  our  vessels  had  bee«^  seized  in  .Trench  ports,  or 
burnt  at  se*t  by  French  cruisers,  whUeniany  oi  their  un- 
offending crev^s  were  manacled  like  slaves,  confined  m 
Fi-ench  prisons,  or  forced  on  boai  d  French  ships,  to  fight 
against  England.     In  opposition  however  to  ^these 
proofs,our  government,  with  an  hardihoodand  eftrontery 
at  which  demons  might  have  blushed,  persbted  ui  as- 
sorting the  repeal,  and,  in  revenge  against  England  lor 


=S:— 


'll 


11 


iK-t  believing  them,  passed  theii*  non-intercourse  law, 
laid  their  embargo,  and  now  have  declared  war. 

My  brethren,  if  we  have  any  regard  for  truth  and 
righteousness,  what  must  we  think  of  such  pretences 
for  war?     The  apathy  and  indifference  with  which 
some  persons  among  us  seem  to  receive  the  annuncia- 
tion of  it  is,  to  me,  matter  of  amazement.     Consider- 
ing that  we  are  the  subjects  of  the  Prince  of  peace, 
the  professors  of  that  religion  which  breathes  peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  towai-ds  men,  the  disciples  of  the 
meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  who  have  taken  his  yoke  upon 
us,  and  entered  into  the  most  solemn  engagements  to 
imitate  and  obey  him,  having  in  us  the  same  mmd  that 
was  in  him,  I  am  amazed  that  a  general  shriek  of  hor- 
ror at  this  deed  of  our  rulers  has  not  been  heard  from 
one  extremity  of  our  country  to  the  other.     For  my- 
self,  from  the  moment  my  ears  received  the  tidings, 
my  mind  has  been  in  a  constant  agony,  not  so  much 
at  the  inevitable  loss  of  our  temporal  prosperity  and 
happiness,  and  tlie  complicated  miseries  of  war,  as  at 
its  guilt,  its  outrage  against  Heaven,  against  all  truth, 
honesty,  justice,  goodness— against  all  the  principles  of 
social  happiness.     As  a  teacher  of  righteousness,  as  a 
minister  of  Christ,  I  fed  rayself  under  obligations  in- 
finitely superior  to  all  hu^an  laws,  most  solemnly  to 
testify,  both  in  public  and  in  private,  everj-  where,  in 
the  hearing  of  all  persons,  mlers  and  subjects,  against 
this  atrocious  wickedness,  and  to  lay  down  my  life, 
rather  than  cease  this  testimony.     To  you,  my  breth- 
ren, and  to  all  my  fellow  citizens  I  say,  m  the  lan- 
guage of  the  text,  «  FIGHT  YE  NOT  AGAINST 
ThI.  lord  god  of  your  FATHERS;  FOR 
YE  SHALL  NOT  PROSPER." 

No  recent  injury  has  been  done  us,  no  new  provo- 
cation has  been  offered;  nothing  has  happened  of  a 
nature  to  inflame  the  passions,  and  to  bring  on  the 
present  phrenzy.  It  is  therefore  the  more  wonderful, 
and  can  be  accounted  for  on  no  other  principle,  but  the 
imperceptible  influence  which  the  author  of  all  evil, 
the  spirit  that  worketh  in  the  children  of  disol3edience, 
has  been  permitted  to  exert  in  the  hearts  of  dark-mind- 


i    '* 


II  iiiKiii^"- 


t'' 


13 

cd,  cool,  deliberately  wicked  rulers.  They  have  ac- 
knowledged themselves  caught  and  entangled  m  the 
toils  of  Bonaparte,  that  rival  of  satan  himself  in  guUe 
and  mischief,  and  his  most  conspicuous  agent  here  oft 
earth.  He  twisted  and  prepared  the  slip-noose  which 
our  rulers,  in  fulfilment  of  prior  engagements  to  hun, 
have  put  about  the  neck  of  their  country.  Ihus 
strangling  us,  snug  in  their  lucrative  places,  with  the 
calmness  of  French  philosophers,  they  enjoy  our  ago- 
nies.  "  The  king  and  Haman  sat  down  to  drink, 
but  the  city  Shushan  was  perplexed." 

Were  not  the  authors  of  this  war  in  character  nearly 
akin  to  the  deists  and  atheists  of  France  ;  were  they 
not  men  of  hardened  hearts,  seared  consciences,  rep- 
robate minds,  and  desperate  in  wickedness;  it  seems 
utterly  inconceivable  that  U.ey  should  have  made  the 
declaration.    Their  pretensions,  in  my  judgment,  are 
either  frlaring,  unblushing  falsehoods,  or  for  things  so 
trifling'^and  unimportant  that  it  may  be  queried  wheth- 
er  they  would  not  be  wickedly  obtained  at  the  hazard 
of  a  single  life.     The  trade  of  France  is  confessedl/ 
the  main  object.     That  trade  in  its  very  best  state,  be- 
fore  the  restrictions  on  either  side,  it  has  been  abund- 
antly proved,  amounted  not  to  the  tenth  part  of  our 
trade  to  England  which  France  first  prohibited ;  yet 
we  go  to  war  against  England  in  favor  of  France,  and 
this  too  at  a  time  when  France  has  so  encumbered 
our  trade  with  her  by  duties  and  restrictions  as  to 
render  it  worse  than  nothing,  and  its  prohibition  by 
England  no  grievance.     What  object  then  is  there  for 
the  war,  which  is  the  destruction  of  all  trade  and  of  all 
the  persons  who  depend  upon  it  for  their  support? 
How  black  must  be  the  motives  to  such  a  war ;  a  war 
in  reality  against  ourselves,  our  interest  and  happiness. 
Is  there  not  room  to  fear  that  its  authors  may  have 
secretly  formed  their  plan  after  the  model  of  the  French 

revolutionists.  .•,...  j  •  . 

Circumstanced  as  the  country  now  is,  divided  into 
two  great  parties,  the  present  rulers  cannot  feel  them- 
selves  secure  in  their  places,  before  such  a  phalanx  of 
opposers  4S  their  past  provoking  conduct  has  embodied 


L 


■  I    . — . 


33 


against  them  in  all  the  mercantile  States.     Conscious 
S  their  guilt  and  danger,  but  destitute,  as  fallen  angels, 
of  any  heart  to  repent,  party  spirit  and  rage  have  so 
worked  them  up  that  they  have  at  length  become  des- 
perate, and  in  a  fit  of  desperation  have  proclaimed  war. 
They  well  know  that  in  a  free  government  like  ours, 
war  cannot  be  carried  on  without  the  general  and  almost 
unanimous  consent  of  the  people,  and  that  a  great  body 
of  opponents  must  occasion  a  civil  war.     Situated  as 
the  country  now  is,  this  they  must  expect ;  but  as  they 
have  the  power  in  their  hands  and  count  upon  being 
on  the  strongest  side,  having  the  great  Bonaparte  for 
their  ally,  assisted  by  him,  do  they  not  mean  to  rush 
on  to  the  war  agamst  England  over  the  dead  bodies 
of  its  vanquished  opposers  ?  Is  there  not,  at  least,  room 
to  fear  this  ? 

If  at  the  present  moment,  no  symptoms  of  civil 
war  appear,  Aey  certainly  will  soon,  unless  the  cour- 
age of  the  war  party  should  fail  them.     The  opposi- 
tion  comprises  all  the  best  men  in  the  nation,  men  of 
the  greatest  talents,  courage  and  wealth,  and  whose 
WaSiingtonian  principles   will  compel  them  to  die 
rather  than  stun  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  an  unjust 
war.     Prudence  leads  them  at  present,  to  cloak  their 
opposition  under  constitutional  forms.     Provoked  at 
these  obstacles,  the  ptrons  of  war  will  have  recourse 
to  violence.     Attempts  will  be  first  made  to  bridle  the 
tongues  and  pens  of  the  opponents.     This  has  been 
done  in  Congress  already,  while  the  war-question  was 
under  debate.     It  was  by  gagging  the  mouth  of  a 
Randolph  and  other  enlightened  patriots  that  the  act 
passed.    The  mouths  of  the  opposition  abroad  must 
be  next  gagged,  their  hands  tied,  and  their  feet  niade  to 
move  at  the  will  of  the  war-party.     When   in   the 
course  of  their  progress,  the  enemy  shall  be  coming 
as  a  flood,  and  the  distresses  of  war  shall  press  heavy, 
all  their  losses  and  misfortunes  will  be  attributed  to 
their  present  opponents.    Against  these  a  popular  clam- 
our will  be  set  up,  a  deadly  hatred  excited.    They  will 
be  called  enemies  to  their  country,  traitors,  the  mends 
of  Britain  and  of  monarchy,  opposers  of  a  republican 


^ 


i 


14 


government,  and  insurg;ents  against  the  laws.  Who- 
ever robs  or  murders  them  will  think  that  he  does  God 
and  his  country  service.  At  length  they  will  be  pro- 
claimed rebels,  and  force  used  to  subdue  them.  As 
no  considerable  number  of  men  will  tamely  surrender 
their  lives,  force  on  the  one  side  will  produce  force  on 
the  other.  Thus  a  civil  war  becomes  as  ceiiain  as  the 
events  which  happen  according  to  the  known  laws  and 
established  course  of  nature. 

In  New  Enlgand,  the  war  declared  cannot  be  ap- 
proved by  any  but  here  and  there  a  furious  party  lead- 
er, a  few  ignorant,  deluded  fanatics,  and  a  handful  of 
despemdoes.     It  must  he  abhorred  by  more  than  nme 
tenths  of  the  people  in  the  mercantile  states,  and  by 
everv-  sober,  good  man  in  all  the  states.     In  the  face 
of  an  opposition  so  numerous  and  formidable,  how 
desperate  and  sanguinary  must  have  been  the  views  of 
its  authors?   Their  chosen  master,  Bonaparte,  how- 
ever, must  be  obeyed,  at  ever)'  hazard.     They  could 
not  endure  his  reproaches,  that  "they  were  without 
policy,  without  spirit,  without  principle,  and  inferior  to 
a  colony  of  Jamaica." 

My  brethren,  the  blood  runs  cold  m  my  veins  at 
the  prospect  of  the  heart  chilling  scenes  before  us. 
The  thing  which  we  greatly  feared  is  come  upon  us. 
Standing  by  the  bed  of  death,  I  have  often  exhorted 
the  dying,  as  a  temper  suitable  to  their  awful  situation, 
to  be  thankful  for  the  mercies  of  their  past  lives,  and 
that  they  have  lived  so  long.     A  like  temper  now  be- 
comes us  all.     We  have  abundant  reason  to  be  thank- 
ful to  the  God  of  our  fathers,  that  this  dreadful  calam- 
ity has  not  sooner  overtaken  us.     It  is  within  the  rec- 
ollection of  many  of  you,  that  in  1794,  eighteen  years 
ago.  it  woijld  have  befallen  us,  had  the  man  by  whom  it 
has  been  now  proclaimed  been  able  to  effect  his  pur- 
pose.     At  that  time  indeed  we  had  received   much 
greater  provocation   than   any  of  which  we  now  com- 
plain.    It  is  well  known  that  Mr.  Madison  exerted  his 
utmost  influence  in  Congress  for  a  declaration  of  war, 
and  in  all  probability   would  have  effected  it,  had  not 
the  great  and  good  lather  of  his  country  stood  as  a  bul- 


% 


■N.. 


15 


it 

h 

i- 
is 
r, 

3t 

1- 


wark  against  him.  To  the  administration  of  Wash- 
ington he  was  inveterately  hostile  :  and  whoever,  with 
an  impartial  eye,  has  observed  his  official  conduct,  es- 
pecially toward  England,  from  that  day  to  this,  must 
be  constrained  to  believe  that  he  has  been  uniformly 
seeking  what  he  has  now  obUiined. 

In  the  mean  while  however,  notwithstanding  all  the 
spoliations  of  the  powers  at  war,  wc  have  been  grow- 
ing, beyond  all  former  example,  in  riches  antf  m  what- 
ever  constitutes  thepros])erity  and  happiness  of  a  people. 
Wealth  has  flown  in  upon  our  sea-ports,  every  loot  of 
ground  belonging  to  them  has  risen  in  value  more  than 
a  thousand  per  cent,   the  number  of  buildings  has 
doubled  and  trebled,  many  of  them  have  risen  spacious 
and  splendid  palaces,  and  our  merchants  have  become 
princes  in  opulence,  while  every  class  of  tradesmen, 
mechanics,  and  labourers,  have  had  full  and  constant 
employ,  and  more  than  double  wages.    This  prosperity 
from  trade  has  extended  and  diffused  its  salutary  and  en- 
livening effects  over  the  face  of  the  whole  country,  into 
every  town  and  village,  and  to  the  remotest  settlements 
in  the  wilderness.     This  full  tide  of  prosperous  and 
successful  experiment  was  principally  occasioned  by 
Jay^s  treaty  with  Great  Britain  ;  and  it  continued  with- 
out  abatement  to  the  expiration  of  that  treaty.     Of  all 
the  nations  on  the  globe,  we  progressed  incomparably 
the  most  happy  and  prosperous,  up  to  the  period  when 
Qur  own  Jeffersons  and   Madisons,   with  their  adju- 
tors,  commenced  their  depredations  upon  us.     From 
that  era,  we  have  been  as  rapidly  declining,  as  we 
^  were  increasing  beibre.     Already  real  estate,  bbth  In 
town  and  country,  has  lost  nearly  half  its  value  in  con- 
sequence of  the  laws  against  commerce.     The  great 
body  of  our  merchants  wiU,  not  h^tate  to  declare, 
that  they  have  experienced  more  emblrassment  in  their 
business,  and  have  sustained  greatf y,  losses  in  conse- 
quence of  non-importation  a|ts,   embargoes,  non-in- 
tercourses,  and  other  absurd  laws  of  our  own  govern- 
ment, than  all  that  they. ever  sustained  in  the  same 
time  from  the  nations  at  war,     I  'believt  it  too  to  be 
a  fact,  that  the  execution  of  those  idSquitous  laws  has 


% 


V 


16 

occasioned  t!«  loss  of  more  lives,  tkm  the  country- 
has  ever  lost  amkJst  the  collisicns  of  the  warring  pow- 
ers.   By  the  enactment  of  such  laws,  the  vessel  of 
state  was  run  aground,  unrigjged,  and  various  handt 
cmp'oyed  in  hacking  it  to  pieces.     But  even  these 
methods  of  destruction  were  too  tardy  to  satisfy  the 
impatience  of  the  great  enemy  of  human  felicity,  the 
tj  rant  of  France.     At  his  nod,  we  have  now  in  a  mo- 
ment been  thrown  into  a  gulph  of  misery,  whose  bounds 
Mid  bottom  no  eye,  short  of  omniscience,  can  discern. 
One  hope  only  remains,  that  this  last  stroke  of  per- 
fidy may  open  the  eyes  of  a  besotted  and  most  wretdi* 
edly  deluded  people,  that  they  may  awdte,  like  a  gi- 
ant fix)m  his  slumbers,  and  mesk  their  vengeance  on 
their  betrayers  by  driving  them  torn  their  stations, 
and  placing  at  helm  more  skilful  and  feithful  hands. 
Indignant  as  I  feel  towards  the  present  rulers  as  the 
guilty  authors  of  the  public  calamities,  I  wish  them 
no  other  harm  but  a  speedy  return  to  that  private  con- 
cQtion,  firom  which  they  have  only  emerge*  to  pour 
blasting  and  mildew  upon  dieir  country.     If  tli^ey  have 
not  sinned  beyond  the  reach  of  divine  mercy,  I  can 
$till  pray  for  them,  Mid  that  they  may  soon  be  placed 
in  that  r«irement  which  is  the  most  favourable  td  con*, 
sideration  Mid  repentance. — For  myself,  according  to 
the  course  of  nature,  I  have  but  a  short  time  either  t» 
mourn  or  rejoice  in  the  affeirs  of  rae^4  feu*  while  it 
shall  please  God  to  continue  me  in  this  tabernacle,  by 
his  grace,  no  fear  of  mao  shall  deter  me  fix)m  dis- 
charging  what  in  my  conscience  I  believe  to*be  my 
duty,  in  testifying  against  wickedness  in  high  places, 
as  wdl  as  in  low. 


# 


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